Waiting
by The-Windflower-Fairy
Summary: A small act can have a domino effect that reaches various people in a variety of ways. Will include various pairings, and some chapters may intersect.
1. Train Graveyard

**Hi. So I had this weird dream, and decided to make a story out of it, since it simply wouldn't leave my head. I just can't seem to concentrate on previous stories that really need updating. Well, this should hopefully fix that; it's nothing serious, just a bit of an aid to get me back into writing, and I probably won't update very often. But I decided to share it with you anyway, if you'd be so kind as to take the time to read it. Hope you enjoy.**

**As always, I don't own Final Fantasy VII, or the characters.**

**And also, this is rated M for a reason, though I don't think it's overly graphic.**

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Waiting

Train Graveyard

_Yuffie x Rude_

Sector Seven used to have a Train Station, before meteor hit. It was still there, still recognisable, but obviously broken beyond repair. It blended in well with the Train Graveyard that existed close to it; heaps of metal, some parts twisted and scorched black, the trains and their carts mostly overturned at odd angles, and the tracks almost completely buried under rubble from the dropped plate. This is where Yuffie chose to spend most of her time. Sometimes to sit, to think, to cry, to smile. Lately, she was unhappy.

Yuffie disliked Shelke. That much was obvious to anyone who witnessed their fleeting moments of interaction. The ninja disliked the ex-Tsviet's cold, emotionless demeanour (even in the face of losing her _sister_ for Leviathan's sake), her lack of knowledge in how the world worked to the point of blatant ignorance, and her unnecessary use of one's last name as well as the first that just grated on her nerves. Most of all, Yuffie strongly disliked how the girl managed to capture and hold the attention of the one and only Vincent Valentine. Yuffie had been trying to accomplish that for _years, _with minimal success.

She didn't want to go back to Wutai just yet, but she also didn't want to stay at the 7th Heaven and be forced to stew in her own envy and misery as she watched Vincent visit Shelke every day, while barely conceding to the fact that the ninja girl of Wutai was in the same building. So Yuffie slept at the bar, but ventured into Midgar during the day. Not that there was anything of use in those ruins. Until one day, she unwittingly stumbled upon her escape from Vincent's influence.

Rude was leaning against a fallen pillar in his Turk uniform, arms folded, staring at the ground. At first, Yuffie assumed his presence at Sector Seven's almost flattened train station was a one off. She came here every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, always to lay on top of an overturned train carriage and stare at the sky, but she'd never seen the Turk here before. It looked like he was waiting for someone.

The ninja left him be, subdued lately for obvious reasons, and took up her usual spot. Rude glanced up from the other side of the train tracks and nodded to her in acknowledgement, and she nodded back. That was it.

Until the next day, a Monday. The Turk showed up again, in the late evening this time. Yuffie had been staring at the beautiful, sparkling stars, making up new constellations to tell Nanaki about, before she detected movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning to look, she saw what appeared to be the disembodied head of the bald Turk; his suit blended so well into the night. He leaned against the same pillar again, and she waved to catch his attention. Rude nodded back, then took to staring at the ground as he always did.

The Princess didn't see him again for three days, until Friday. Three whole days in which Vincent Valentine completely ignored her existence. So her spirits lifted slightly as she caught sight of the Turk, leaning against his pillar as the sun set. This time she decided to call out a greeting. Rude gave an awkward, half hearted wave, before returning to his own thoughts. The acknowledgement was enough for Yuffie; at least he wasn't ignoring her too.

On Sunday morning, Yuffie arrived at the Train Station to find Rude already in his spot, still and silent. The ninja looked between him and her spot for a moment, before choosing to walk up to the Turk. Sitting on a twisted lump of metal next to him -what the lump used to be, she wasn't sure- Yuffie smiled widely.

"Hi." she greeted pleasantly.

"Hello, Lady Kisaragi." he replied quietly.

Nothing more was said that day. After a few weeks, it became the norm; Yuffie would sit next to Rude, they would both acknowledge the others presence, then sit in comfortable silence until one of them left. This happened Mondays, Fridays and Sundays. Neither would ask why the other was here, or if something was wrong; it was clear they wouldn't be here if they were perfectly happy with their lives.

Yuffie finally discovered Rude's reason for visiting the Train Station when Reno showed up with him one day, a Friday. They were arguing. Or rather, Reno was trying to provoke a verbal response from the other Turk. The ninja stayed out of sight to eavesdrop.

"Rude, why don't you just go to the bar and try _talking_ to her? You're moping over somethin' you don't have, but you ain't even tried to get it yet."

The bald Turk remained stoically silent. Reno sighed loudly, "Look, coming here three days a week to sulk is kinda sad, partner. Come drinking with me, or something."

Rude merely shook his head. The red head raised his voice, "Damn man, you're actin' a fool just 'cause you like some girl!"

The other Turk finally responded with one word, "Hypocrite."

There was a moment of tense silence in which Yuffie held her breath. It was broken when Reno started to chuckle.

"Yeah," he agreed, "I am, ain't I? Okay partner, you deal with it your way, and I'll deal with it my way."

They shared a smirk before parting ways. Once she was sure Reno was gone, the Princess popped out from her hiding place and took her usual seat next to Rude.

"So, you like 'some girl', eh?" she asked curiously, not expecting an answer.

"Yuffie." Her stomach seemed to drop as she thought he was referring to her, but realised in the next second that he was only acknowledging her.

"Rude." she reciprocated, smiling. Of course, the ninja had an inkling as to whom it was he had feelings for. Still, after five years she thought he'd be over her by now. That said, Yuffie had been in love with Vincent since she was sixteen. Maybe she was a hypocrite too.

On Monday, Rude was greeted with a weeping Yuffie. She'd got into an argument with Shelke because the ex-Tsviet had made a needless comment about the ninja's unhealthy diet. Yuffie had disputed that her eating habits were none of Shelke's business, and it wasn't as if _she _needed Mako as a form of sustenance to stay healthy anyway. Vincent, of course, had defended Shelke immediately and firmly.

"Stupid vampire." The Princess sniffled. Rude placed a gloved hand on her shoulder and squeezed briefly and gently.

Two more meetings passed as normal. They both waited silently at the ruined train station for something that would never happen. The ninja decided they should make a change to their routine, on the next Monday. After the usual greetings, Yuffie turned to Rude with a proposal.

"Hey, do you wanna...grab a drink?" she asked hesitantly, "Not at the 7th Heaven, obviously."

The Turk regarded her in silence for so long that Yuffie honestly believed he wasn't going to answer, and then he nodded.

She let Rude pick the bar, which turned out to be on the other side of Edge to Tifa's bar entirely, and that was more than okay with her. It wasn't as nice as the 7th Heaven, but it was quiet. Rude ordered a whisky, straight, and Yuffie ordered some sickly, sweet cocktail. They drank slowly, quietly.

"You don't talk much, just like him." she commented offhandedly. He nodded in agreement, and they shared a look for a moment.

She really didn't know how it happened, but Yuffie and Rude were completely on the same page as they stood, abandoning their unfinished drinks. He took her hand, and she let him lead her over to the bar, where the Turk put down some gil and grabbed a room key.

Up the stairs, find the right room, unlock the door; they didn't rush, but they weren't slow about it, either. Once inside, Yuffie began tearing of her clothes hurriedly, while Rude was much more methodical in removing his. Tie first, then the jacket, followed by shoes and socks, but not preceding the shirt.

"Gawd Rude, taking your sweet time there, buddy. Here, let me help you." An already fully naked Yuffie jumped in front of him and began working at his belt. The Turk let her finish undressing him, before picking her up and setting her down on the queen sized bed.

"Are you gonna do me with your shades on? I'm not complaining, you can if you want to, I don't mind either way."

Rude smirked a little as he removed his sunglasses, revealing warm brown eyes.

"Leviathan, Rude, you really like to hide all your assets-"

He cut her off with a kiss, easing her back onto the bed, "Why are you so talkative _now_?"

"Sorry, I'll shut up and let you get on with it, shall I?"

And get on with it he did, after positioning her legs over his shoulders, and then Yuffie couldn't shut up anymore. In fact, she was probably being far too loud, but Rude didn't care; he wasn't exactly being gentle, and she didn't seem to mind. Her ears strained to hear the Turks quiet, rhythmic grunts. For this short period of time, Vincent Valentine could go fuck himself to the heavens. The ninja cried out only Rude's name as she came, and he followed soon after, a garbled version of her name and a swear word spilling from his lips. It was far from romantic and it wasn't particularly affectionate, but they didn't care. It was exactly what they both needed.

They lay next to each other in silence until Yuffie caught her breath, "That's the loudest I've ever heard your voice go, and you didn't even say a real word."

Rude chuckled, and the sound was warm and rich to her ears. Vincent never chuckled around her.

He woke her up very early, before dawn, already dressed. It soon became apparent that Yuffie was not a morning person, though only when she tried to pull one of her stockings over her head did Rude take pity on her and help. When the Princess was finally fully clothed, she gave him a sullen look, "I got all excited when you woke me up 'cos I thought we were gonna do it again."

The Turk smirked a little, smugly, "A one night stand means just that."

"I know, but there's no need to conform to the rules all the time, is there?"

He shook his head at her logic, opening the door for her. Yuffie practically skipped out, and Rude followed her quietly, putting on his sunglasses. They exited the bar in comfortable silence, before parting ways with a nod and a knowing look.

Tifa was out of bed and prepping the kitchen for lunchtime customers by the time Yuffie sauntered in, happier than she'd been in a while.

"And just where have you been, young lady?" the bartender teased, chopping away at some vegetables.

"Sector Seven's Train Graveyard." the Princess informed her, matter of fact.

"Interesting choice of playground," Tifa commented, "Did you have fun?"

Yuffie pondered for a moment, before replying in a complacent tone, "Yes. Yes I did." Then she grinned at the barmaid widely, "Tifa, you honestly have no idea what you're missing, girl."

With that, Yuffie flounced past her and up the stairs to the hallway, where she passed Vincent. She did not acknowledge his presence.

Tifa frowned, trying to figure out what Yuffie meant. Not that it would have mattered if she did, because Tifa would always be waiting for Cloud.

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**Quite the unusual pairing, hm? I know. I don't know what I was thinking. Perhaps I'm subconsciously tired of the conventional ones. **

**Please take a moment to review and tell me what you thought? :) I have a couple more chapters that are relatively finished.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. 7th Heaven: Bar

**Honestly, I confuse myself. When I commit myself to update quickly on a story, for some reason it takes what seems like ages. But when I say I won't update often? Boom. Two chapters ready in less than twenty four hours. I need to start saying I won't update on all my stories.**

**Anyway, another chapter, another pairing. Let's do it.**

**I don't own Final Fantasy VII.**

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Waiting

7th Heaven: Bar

_Reno x Yuffie_

Waiting...yeah, that's what he was doing. Drinking too, but mostly waiting.

He'd been pondering over Rude's very true accusation for a while now, 'Hypocrite', he'd said. For telling him just to talk to the girl he liked, to quit moping, and instead stop acting a fool and _do _something about it.

Yeah...he was such a fucking hypocrite. What was he doing right now?

He seriously considered backing out like a little pansy, but downed the rest of his whisky as an alternative. Liquid courage, and all that. Tifa raised an eyebrow at him from behind the well polished bar counter, and smiled a little, but said nothing. Did she know? Would she tell her if she did? Wait, if she knew then she must've already told her. Sweet baby Shiva, he needed to relax. Reno wanted to order another drink, but seeing as it was two minutes to ten, he decided to wait. She'd usually switch with Tifa and be on duty at ten, on the second.

His thoughts turned back to Rude. He seemed suddenly happier as of a few days ago, but Reno didn't understand why; he still didn't have the object of his affections. Yet his partner had stopped hanging out at the Train Graveyard in Sector Seven every odd day as far as he knew. Rude had apparently sorted out his feelings for Tifa, though he didn't know how exactly. He supposed it didn't really matter; now he had to do the same. If his way didn't work out, he'd have to ask his partner how he did it.

Tifa glanced at the clock as Yuffie came bounding down the stairs to take over the bar.

"Perfectly on time, as always." Tifa commented, and the ninja grinned.

"Wutai's are always punctual, Teef." She responded, matter of fact, before taking her place behind the bar as the owner of the 7th Heaven disappeared.

Reno took a moment to admire her figure. She looked stunning in her normal, casual shorts, but had mixed it up a little and chosen to wear a plain corset that matched the colour of his uniform.

"You can't eye me up without ordering a drink first, Turk." Yuffie told him playfully.

He smirked in what he hoped was an attractive fashion, "Alright, I'll have another whisky, babe."

She smiled and took the glass he offered, their fingers brushing slightly. Why would he even notice that? He glared at his hand, as it had begun to shake slightly. He clenched it into a fist.

Why was he acting like such a fool?

"Here you go." The ninja placed the drink in front of him, and he thanked her, before she moved away to serve other customers. He tried not to read too much into the fact that she'd served him first.

Alright, now all he had to do was to wait until closing time; he'd make sure to be the last one here, and finally he'd be alone with her...and then he'd make his move. He would. If his socially awkward best friend could solve the problem of unresolved _feelings _(who knew Turks were capable), then he certainly could. But he would do it his way.

For now, he contented himself with observing Yuffie dance around serving customers. Literally, dance. She always seemed to have so much energy, and it was infectious. The Turk watched as she skipped over to the jukebox and put on some upbeat Wutai song. He didn't understand a word, and briefly wished he had Tseng with him to translate the lyrics. He wanted to know what kind of songs she liked.

Many other men were watching Yuffie dance too, which grated on his nerves a little. He wasn't usually the jealous type; hell, he wasn't the type to stick around long enough to ever get jealous. But this time it was different. He emptied his glass in one.

"Hey, beautiful, can I get a refill?" he asked when she passed him.

"Sure thing handsome." She answered teasingly, "Same again?"

He nodded, smiling openly. Once she'd set the drink down, he attempted to engage her in conversation in order to keep her attention on him.

"So Yuffie, how've ya been?" he enquired, not having to try too hard to look genuinely interested. He was such a fool.

"Well..." she pondered on the answer for a moment, "Recently, I've been feeling pretty good."

"I'm glad." He told her, "I got the feeling you were a little down these past few months." And he was pretty sure he knew why.

She nodded, "I was, but..." A sly smile spread across her face, as though she was recalling a fond memory, "I'm over it."

Reno smiled too, happy that Valentine was no longer an obstacle in his path, "Good."

"What about you?" she asked.

"Well, I..." should he hint at his feelings first? "I've been thinking a lot about y-"

"Excuse me, bartender!" A male voice cut him off, "Can I get a drink, please?"

"Sorry sir, of course." Yuffie replied, holding up her index finger to Reno in the universal sign of 'one minute' as she walked over to serve the man.

The Turk shot a glare in the obnoxious man's direction, but he wasn't paying attention to anything but Yuffie.

"Hey gorgeous, you're looking good tonight." He told her. The ninja smiled politely.

"Thanks." She replied, setting down his beer. Reno felt his fingers twitch uncontrollably, itching to punch something. Maybe he should corner the guy in an alley somewhere and show him why Turks should still be feared...

As Yuffie went to move away, the guy reached over and grabbed her wrist, "Hey, why don't you stay here and talk to me for a while?"

She kept the polite smile fixed on her face, "I'm sorry sir, but I was talking to someone else."

The Turk desperately wanted to intervene, but knew Yuffie wouldn't like it; she was the kind of girl that fought her own battles.

"What, that guy?" The man said, jerking his thumb in Reno's direction, who was just two seats down, "He isn't worth such a beautiful girl's time."

She jerked her hand from his grasp, "Actually, he's my friend."

He sent Reno an incredulous look, and the Turk raised his glass in a mock -yet somehow still victorious- toast.

The guy scoffed, "Friends with a Turk huh? Fine, never mind. I thought you looked like a whore anyway."

Reno saw red.

He was brought back by a sharp blow to the jaw, and realized he'd pissed off two of the guy's friends. The loathsome man himself was on the ground, howling and clutching his face; the Turk could see profuse amounts of blood seeping through his fingers. Reno was also aware that his right hand was smarting. A quick glance down revealed he had a deep, nasty cut, with shards of glass lodged into his skin. Huh. He must've smashed his glass into the guys face.

One of the man's friends went in for another punch, but then Yuffie was at his side, expertly blocking the fist and countering with a pretty, practised punch of her own. Reno smirked a little and focused his attention on the last guy.

It was over within seconds. Nursing their various wounds, the men stumbled out of the bar, the first man still noisily weeping.

"Alright, everybody out!" Yuffie ordered loudly.

She was mad at him, he knew. But he didn't regret anything.

Reno sat on his usual barstool as Yuffie cleaned up his hand with a damp cloth, after removing all the shattered glass and placing it onto a small tray. She hadn't spoken to him since she'd ordered him to "Sit" and began tending to his wounds.

"How long you gonna keep up the silent treatment?" he asked.

"That was completely unnecessary!" she snapped almost as soon as he'd finished his sentence.

"The guy was a complete wanker." The Turk defended as she used some antiseptic spray on his hand.

"That's no excuse to inflict grievous bodily harm by smashing a _glass _into his _face!_" The ninja exclaimed, "Dear Leviathan Reno, I know you've done much worse but-"

She abruptly stopped speaking, finally looking at his face to catch his reaction. He made his expression carefully blank and gave her a look that challenged her to keep talking. She didn't.

They didn't speak for a moment while she bandaged his hand tightly.

"He called you a whore." Reno said, breaking the quiet, "Wasn't gonna stand for that."

"I didn't need you to defend my honour." She told him, though she didn't sound as upset anymore.

"Yeah, I know." He replied, smiling at her gently, "You've kicked my ass plenty of times before."

Yuffie smiled back, before taking the cloth and tray away to the sink. As she ran the cloth under the hot tap, washing away the blood, Reno wondered whether his chance had been lost, and couldn't decide if he was relieved or disappointed. The ninja wrung out the cloth tightly and strode around the counter to stand in front of him again. Leaning down slightly, she began to gently dab at Reno's swollen and split lip. He took the opportunity to take in her facial features up close; her flawless skin, her cute button nose, her dark Wutai hair and eyes, and the shape of her lips...

He brought his eyes back to hers to find her looking into his own, as if she was trying to decide what colour they were, exactly. Blue or green? Hers were difficult to decipher also; they were clearly dark brown, but sometimes looked gray depending on the light.

The Turk realized now was the time, if ever. He leaned forward a little, as there wasn't much distance between them, and closed his eyes just before he pressed his mouth to hers lightly.

For a second, neither moved, and Reno delighted in the feel of her smooth lips. He was finally kissing her. But then she pulled back abruptly, and his eyes flew open in surprise. Shock was the most prominent expression on her face, before she stepped back and was that...guilt?

"What was that?!" Yuffie asked urgently as he stood up, "What did that mean?!"

"I-" he wasn't sure what to say, so he went for the truth, "I've had feelings for you for a while and I decided to act on them-"

She was already shaking her head halfway through his sentence. It wasn't that she didn't care about him, it was just that her mind kept fixating on the fact that she'd had sex with his partner and best friend not seventy two hours ago. She was a terrible person.

"No." She muttered, "You need to go."

The hurt was quite plain on his face, and the ninja cursed herself. She was terrible, selfish person. Reno hardened his expression, threw up a fake –yet slightly sadistic- smile, and raised his hands, "Hey, no skin off my back."

With that, the Turk walked to the exit with long strides, slamming the door behind him with more force than necessary.

In the newly acquired silence, Yuffie sighed regretfully.

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**M'kay. Review please? Reno in love always seems a bit OOC to me...but, I can't help it. I think it's freakin' adorable. :3**

**Thank you for reading!**


	3. 7th Heaven: Shelke's Room

**Hi again. So...here's the next chapter with the next pairing, with some one-sided Yuffie x Vincent since I think it's obvious she likes him canonically. Hope you enjoy.**

**Also, to the anonymous reviewer 'cat' since I don't know how else to reach you; I do intend on updating my other stories. It's been a while since I wrote anything for the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom, but I am going to finish 'Don't You Remember?' eventually. This story is helping me get back into writing, since FFVII inspires me a lot.**

**Anyway, I don't own Final Fantasy VII. **

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Waiting

7th Heaven: Shelke's Room

_Vincent x Lucrecia(Shelke)_

He visited Shelke often, mostly to talk about Lucrecia. He felt much lighter since discovering that she really did love him after all, that she'd saved his life. He was very grateful to her, now that he was free of Chaos and able to live his life as a relatively normal human being.

Shelke possessed Lucrecia's memories, thoughts and feelings. She confided in him that Lucrecia's feelings for him were very strong, even now. And that made him strangely happy.

But Shelke seemed distant lately, often lost in thought; whether they were her own thoughts, he couldn't tell.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, placing down his book. He looked across the room to Shelke, who was sitting on the windowsill, staring outside.

She didn't answer for a moment, and he waited patiently. He was good at that.

"I'm not sure if I'm thinking about her, or Lucrecia is." She told him, still facing the window, "But I'm thinking of Yuffie Kisaragi."

Vincent blinked, slightly taken aback for a moment, "It must be your own thoughts. Lucrecia has only met Yuffie once."

Shelke shook her head, turning to face him, "Yuffie Kisaragi has been to visit her a few times. Alone."

His brow furrowed slightly, "Why?"

"We're not sure." She replied, and he knew she was referring to both Lucrecia and herself, "She doesn't say anything, which is unusual."

Yuffie, not talking? Yes, that was highly unusual.

"I'm not very good at identifying others feelings," Shelke continued, "But I think –or she thinks- that there may be something wrong. It may be connected to you somehow."

Vincent glanced down at the floor, pondering. After a few moments, he remembered to voice his thoughts, "I have not noticed anything different about Yuffie's behaviour. Are you certain you are not mistaken?"

Shelke shrugged. She was also getting better at being more expressive, "You should talk to her, to ensure she is alright."

"Hn." He'd spent more than enough time, in his mind, talking to Yuffie. Or rather, being talked at, "Is that truly necessary?"

"Vincent Valentine," Shelke stated, allowing a hint of disapproval to seep into her tone of voice, "Yuffie Kisaragi has fought alongside you for many years, and has even saved your life. Is she not your friend? Tifa Lockheart tells me that one should not neglect their friends."

He felt a fraction of shame, "Yes, Yuffie is my friend. I will talk to her later today."

Shelke smiled a little, and nodded, before turning back to the window.

"Is Yuffie not your friend, Shelke?" he questioned. The ex-Tsviet shook her head again.

"I don't think she likes us very much." She told him quietly.

Vincent nodded once, picking up his book again. He made a mental note to talk to Yuffie about that, as well.

Even after twenty four hours, she was still finding small shards of glass everywhere. It made her wonder if Reno was okay. Maybe she should call him, and apologise. But, apologise for what, exactly? She hadn't done anything wrong, really.

After depositing the few shards she'd found into the bin, Yuffie grabbed a washcloth and began wiping down the bar, again. It was still fairly early in the morning, and 7th Heaven wasn't due to open for another few hours, yet the ninja wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. She wanted to go out, since Vincent and Shelke were upstairs, but now that she'd stopped visiting the Train Graveyard, where was she to go?

"Yuffie."

She turned in response to her name, to see Vincent Valentine standing in front of her. The ninja blinked in surprise. It was definitely his voice that had delivered the sound of her name oh so smoothly; she could recognise it anywhere. This was the first time he had addressed her directly in over three months. And there he was, his attention solely focused on her.

'_Oh Leviathan, I just got over you Valentine, don't pull me back now.'_

"Oh." She muttered in astonishment, before composing herself and flashing him a friendly smile, "Hi Vince. Is everything okay?"

He nodded in response, "I am well. How are you?"

Now she was starting to get plain suspicious; what was with the sudden interest in her wellbeing? He didn't care before.

"Um..." she wasn't sure if she should call him out on talking complete bullshit, but ultimately didn't want to upset him any, "I'm...fine, thanks."

"Are you sure?" he queried further. Though he believed her, he wanted to be certain, "I was informed something may be upsetting you."

Ha, she knew it. He didn't pay attention to her existence at all. It was probably Tifa that told him how depressed she'd been.

Yuffie stood a little straighter and crossed her arms, washcloth still in hand, "You were _informed _huh? By who?"

Vincent furrowed his brow; he got the sense he had said something wrong, "By Shelke...or Lucrecia. Perhaps both."

The ninja frowned in confusion, "How...?" she began, but then shook her head, "You know what, I don't even want to know."

She abruptly turned her back to him, continuing to wipe over the bar counter, "Like I said, Vincent, I'm fine."

Vincent briefly wished he had his cloak to retreat into, but he didn't wear it very often anymore. He hated awkward encounters such as this.

"Thanks for asking." She added, a little sarcastically as an afterthought.

Swallowing his pride and plucking up his courage, the ex-Turk reached out with his gloved, human hand, and touched her elbow lightly. Yuffie froze. This was the first time he had touched her since pulling her out of Nero's oblivion. Two whole years ago. Damn, he must be serious.

"You don't seem fine." He stated, drawing his hand back. The ninja closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. She needed to remember how emotionally clueless he was, and go easy on him.

She turned back to him, smiling slightly, "I'm sorry Vince. You're right, I have been feeling a little down recently." That was an understatement. Try heartbroken for five years. However, she was more than aware that it was nothing compared to what he'd been through. "But, I'm honestly better now."

Vincent gave a very small smile in response, "I see. That is good. May I ask why you were upset?"

All at once, she felt as though she was going to cry. So she turned away from him again before her expression broke. Damn everything to hell, she thought she was finally free of him.

The ninja didn't trust her voice, so she simply shook her head vigorously. He seemed to sense she wanted to be alone; he understood the feeling perfectly well.

"Very well. I will speak with you another time." He told her quietly. And with that, he left the room.

Yuffie squeezed her eyes shut to ward off the tears. Damn him. Damn him and his stupid, handsome face and ridiculously beautiful crimson eyes. Damn him for acting as though he was concerned for her wellbeing.

With a hushed cry of frustration, she brought her fist down onto the counter with no small amount of force.

She needed to talk to Rude. Or rather, she needed him to listen to her speak.

* * *

**Did I do okay? **

**The pairings are kinda intersecting now; the next chapter will have Tifa x Cloud and a bit of Tifa x Rude. The story will also be going a bit non-linear soon.**

**Thanks for reading. **


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